What You Should Know About South Florida Elections This Week

Though voter turnout in this off-year election was low in Miami-Dade county, some changes will be tangible and immediate: like the property tax hike to pay for renovations of the Jackson hospital system. We review other local election results from this week.

Despite competitive mayoral races in Miami Beach and Homestead and some controversial ballot questions, voter turnout in Miami-Dade was about 11%.

Credit Dan Grech

While it’s not yet 2014, elections for next year are already gearing up. Charlie Crist declared his candidacy for a return to the governor’s seat. He’ll face off first against former state Senator Nan Rich. We speak to both Democratic candidates.

Related Content

Although the position of Miami Beach mayor pays only $10,000 a year and carries no veto power -- or any executive power, really -- the race is one of the few competitive elections in South Florida. It's been an active battle among candidates Steve Berke , Michael Gongora and Philip Levine, even garnering unofficial endorsements from national influencers. Former president Bill Clinton, Virgin CEO Richard Branson, billionaire Norman Braman and U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson have weighed in on who they...

Though the legality of the death penalty is settled, the way that we do it is not. Several Florida death row inmates have filed suit to challenge the state’s use of a drug mix they say won’t prevent excruciating pain during the execution.

The picture above shows the beginning of a second runway at Ft. Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport that, once completed, is expected to cost $2.3 billion. The runway is just part of a multi-billion dollar expansion project already underway. More than half of the project is being paid for with borrowed money. The Broward County Aviation Department will eventually assume $1.5 billion in public debt. Last week, it successfully sold $450 million worth of public bonds to continue the construction project.

From reading hundreds of ideas for our If I Were Mayor project, we’ve learned two things: 1. People are thinking big . From new, east-west train routes to more edible landscaping and higher educational standards, South Floridians have clear visions of what they’d like to see in their towns. 2. The powers of local government are confusing and far more limited than the ambitious visions of their citizens. As it turns out, it’s not always easy to figure out who is in charge of your community....

With several mayoral races underway, WLRN-Miami Herald News wants to know what you would do if you were in charge of your town. The project is called "If I Were Mayor." Send us your ideas on how you'd improve your community and why . Make sure to tell us how that issue affects you personally. We'll be posting your ideas and stories online and sharing some of them on-air. You can also tweet us #IfIWereMayor . [ View the story "Your Ideas" on Storify ]